The Sport of Gentlemen
HBO/ Sky Sports Madison Square Garden Theater in NYC
Gennady Golovkin vs. Curtis Stevens 12 rounds, for Golovkin’s WBA middleweight title.
Undercard Mike Perez vs. Magomed Abdusalamov 10 rounds, heavyweights.
undercard Ola Afolabi vs. Lukasz Janik 10 rounds, cruiserweights.
NOVEMBER 9 HBO Corpus Christi, Texas
Nonito Donaire vs. Vic Darchinyan (rematch) 12 rounds featherweights.
Undercard Roman Martinez vs. Mikey Garcia 12 rounds, for Martinez’s WBO jr lightweight title.
Compiled by the El Reportero’s staff
Flamenco dancer Carola Zertuche.The 35th Annual Celebration of Craftswomen, showcasing over 190 female artists, takes place in San Francisco’s Festival Pavilion at the Fort Mason Center on Veteran’s Day Weekend. On Nov. 9-11, 2013, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admissions are $9 for adults; $7 for students, seniors, and people with disabilities; free for children ages 12 and under; and a two-day pass, good on any of the three days, is $15.
Tickets are available on the website and all proceeds benefit The Women’s Building. Those interested in more information can find it at the Celebration of Craftswomen’s website www.celebrationofcraftswomen.com, send an email to Craftswomen@gmail.com, or call 415-802-5699.
An evening with Rick Stevens of Tower of Power
Benefiting the Redwood City Special Needs Afternoon Program.
Rick’s soulful vocals helped put the Bay Area band “Tower of Power” on the charts in the early 1970’s, with such songs as Sparkling in the Sand and fan favorite You’re Still a Young Man. This will be the breakout performance of the group “Love Power” which Rick has put together with local Bay Area musicians, for this benefit for the Redwood City Special Needs Afternoon Program. Saturday, Nov. 9, dinner 6 p.m., show at 7:30 p.m., 1455 Madison Ave, Redwood City, California. For more info call at 760-780-7264 or visit http://www.afarinc.org. Dinner and Show – $35, Show only – $20. Tickets at: latinrockinc.net/home/event/rick-stevens-redwood-city-benefit.
Tribute to Santana and fundraiser
Sounds of the Streets is a tribute to Santana as well as a fundraiser for Milagro Foundation, which benefits underserved and vulnerable children around the world. This foundation was started by Carlos Santana and his family.
During the will be a short PowerPoint presentation outlining the era (1960s) and the location (the Mission District of San Francisco) presented by College of San Mateo Ethnic Studies professor, Rudy Ramírez. Thereafter, a live performance by the Mission Street All-Stars will play selections from the first three albums.
This event will be held at the College of San Mateo Theater, Bldg. 3 on Nov. 13, from 7-9 p.m. Free parking in Beethoven Lot 2. $10 general, $7 students, staff, faculty.
Flamenco: Con Nombre y Apellido
Renowned flamenco dancer Carola Zertuche presents Con Nombre y Apellido, a powerful performance that pushes the boundaries of tradition and explores new expressions of cultural identities through flamenco dance.
In its 47th home season, Theatre Flamenco of San Francisco will present Con Nombre y Apellido, an exploration of the diverse national and cultural identities in the art of flamenco. Artistic Director Carola Zertuche will honor the famous families throughout flamenco history that have maintained a lineage and tradition for the art form itself a mix of Spanish, Gypsy, Jewish, African, and Moorish influences. Using that tradition as a point of departure, Zertuche will reflect on the new crop of artists who are not of those families, nor of Spanish origin, yet have steeped themselves in that tradition and are pushing flamenco forward. Zertuche will integrate her Mexican roots with Spanish Gypsy and North American artists who have earned renown in the art form.
The oldest flamenco dance company in the nation, Theatre Flamenco proudly presents world class and internationally recognized flamenco artists. Featuring guitarist Jose Luis Rodriguez, singer José Cortés, bassist Sascha Jacobsen, electroacoustic musician Fermín Martínez, flamenco dancers Carola Zertuche, Cristina Hall, Marién Luévano, and guest co-director Ricardo Rubio – be prepared for an unforgettable experience of flamenco.
Nov. 14, 15, 16, 2013 at 8 p.m., and on the 17, 2013 at 2 p.m., at the Southside Theater at Fort Mason Center, San Francisco (pre-show 47th Home Season Gala Celebration). Advance tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/454980.
A teacher talks to an elementary grade student. (PHOTO SOURCE: NEW AMERICA MEDIA)
Note from the Editor: Latino students comprise over half the K-12 student population in California, and while graduation rates for Latinos are on the rise, a persistent achievement gap continues to separate them from their white and Asian counterparts. Sergio Cuellar is statewide campaign coordinator with Californians for Justice, a grassroots advocacy group that works with Latino and other minority groups in the state. He says communication and engagement are key to closing the gap. This is the second in a series of NAM interviews with those involved in the state’s education reform movement. (See pt. 1 here.)
What are you seeing in California now that excites you with respect to closing the achievement gap for Latino students?
There is a lot of promise with Local Control Fund ing Formula, if it’s implemented in the right way. And with Latino students making up a big portion of EL students and the low-income population [in the state], seeing what could come out of this new formula is very exciting for us. But we’re also working in the community to really make sure the new funds go toward improving services and educational attainment.
What are you hearing from Latino parents and students in the communities you work in about what they need most?
We hear a lot from parents, and especially parents of English Learner (EL) students, about the need for more engagement. There’s a feeling of not being listened to and not being engaged deeply in the process as much as other parents who speak English. In Fresno we heard from parents – both Hmong and Latino – about the need for deeper afterschool programs that offer more than just taking care of children … programs that are more geared toward assisting students with homework or that offer tutoring services, as opposed to just extracurricular activities. We’ve also heard a lot about access to more college oriented courses for ESL students. Parents feel that a lot of the time these students are just kept in the EL track and not given access to new college or career-bound coursework even when they are improving in English.
Are you seeing a shift in attitudes toward education among Latino parents?
What I’ve seen over the last few years is a willingness to get involved, on the one hand, but also a fear of getting too involved. For parents of undocumented students, for example, they wonder what might happen … will their status be disclosed? Is someone going to find out? There’s a fear of exposing the family. The other piece is those parents who are willing to get involved but who don’t know how to navigate the system. Not having access or even the means of navigating the school system stops parents from getting more deeply involved. And this gets back to the promise of LCFF … the actual communities surrounding a school will have a deeper say of how monies get spent, but the formula also reframes how these communities are engaged.
What are the attitudes you’ve seen among parents regarding the push to bring more technology into the classroom?
I know many parents are concerned more with the conditions of the actual school … making sure it has clean water, has open bathrooms, enough desks in the classroom so kids aren’t left standing, and extra sets of books that kids can actually take home. These basic needs would definitely be something parents would push for … unless they really understood how tools like the iPad are going to be used to replace some of these basic needs. There has to be some deeper connection in explaining how all this technology is going to impact the educational needs of their kids.
What about in the classroom. How well are teachers connecting with Latino students?
There’s an issue in the realm of cultural competency … in Davis, they only had one teacher who was Latino in a school of 1600 students.
They had no African American teachers. Some of the students would say, “I don’t see anyone in a power position that looks or talks like me, or understands where I am coming from.” If they don’t feel comfortable or see some adult figure they might be able to connect with, that’s going to be an issue. A big focus of CFJ involves connecting communities to decision makers in Sacramento.
What are the challenges there?
When folks in Sacramento want to find out what’s happening in education, they tend to go to the experts rather than straight to the people on the ground. It’s great we have that advocacy level and the research that comes with it, representing these communities on educational equity. But it’s a different story than actually bringing young people or bringing parents to the capitol and seeing them as experts. That’s still a challenge and it’s something we’ve been trying to crack.
It’s also difficult for schools and communities trying to figure out what the different policies are … they make their way from the legislature to the State Board and finally to the districts, and sometimes even the districts don’t understand what they are. It’s disheartening to come across schools that may be serving higher populations of low-income or EL students, yet they allow the district to say what programs get run in because they just don’t understand the process.
Beyond LCFF, what are some of the other issues that CFJ is focusing in on?
We’re actually going through our strategic plan at this point. We’ve identified LCFF at least for the next year or two to do really deep work in the communities we’re in – and that’s San Jose, Fresno, Long Beach and Oakland. One a statewide level, we’ve partnered with the Campaign for Quality Education to deliver LCFF 101 workshops.
Every one of our chapters is also doing work on LCFF to build a critical mass and to build up knowledge and put pressure on districts to make sure parent and student voices are part of the conversation. Across the state, we’ve really played a convener role to really push the issue of LCFF and to push communities to come out and take part in pressuring the district … to show that we know what’s going on and that you’re going to be held accountable.
by the El Reportero’s wire services
Efraín Ríos MonttGuatemala’s Constitutional Court has opened the door to amnesty for former dictator Efrain Rios Montt on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, a judicial spokesman told Efe Wednesday.
The ruling was issued Tuesday, but has not been made public pending formal notification of the parties, the spokesman said.
The decision suggests the case against the retired general be dropped on the basis of a amnesty proclaimed in 1986 by Guatemala’s then-military regime, La Prensa Libre daily said Wednesday on its Web site.
The CC, according to the newspaper, ordered trial Judge Carol Patricia Flores to rule on defense lawyers’ motion for a dismissal of the charges against the 87-year-old defendant, who presided over one of the bloodiest phases of the nation’s 1960-1996 civil war.
Rios Montt was convicted in May and sentenced to 80 years in prison for the deaths of 1,771 Ixil Indians between March 1982 and August 1983 as part of a counterinsurgency campaign. But the CC threw out the conviction and ordered a repeat of the trial.
The Guatemalan Supreme Court in June rejected a motion to quash the prosecution of the erstwhile strongman, finding that the 1986 amnesty does not extend to genocide and crimes against humanity. The retrial of Rios Montt is scheduled for April 2014. The CC’s decision is “surprising,” a representative of one of the plaintiffs in the case against him, the Legal Action Center for Human Rights, told Efe Wednesday.
This year’s trial of Rios Montt marked the first time any Guatemalan ruler was called to account for the massacres and atrocities of a conflict that claimed more than 200,000 lives.
Most of the dead were Indian peasants slaughtered by the army and its paramilitary allies.
Tensions heighten on Hispaniola
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Port-au-Prince over the last week to protest against the government of Haiti’s President Michel Martelly. The main gripe was the high cost of living but participating legislators also accused Martelly of authoritarianism. The head of the senate in the Dominican Republic (DR), Reinaldo Pared Pérez, responded by claiming that certain sectors in Haiti had whipped up international hysteria against a controversial ruling by the Dominican constitutional tribunal (TC), which leaves hundreds of thousands of residents of Haitian descent stateless, in a bid to divert attention away from pre-coup protests in Haiti. It could just as easily be claimed that his far-fetched scenario is an attempt to shift attention away from a ruling which has earned his country international condemnation and is also threatening its regional foreign policy. (Reported by Latin News).
Colombia-FARC peace talks continue in Havana
Peace talks between the FARC-EP (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’’s Army) and Colombia’’s government continue to be held in Havana, focusing today on the second topic of a six-point agenda.
On the third day of the 16th round of negotiations that started last Wednesday, both parts will discus about the issue of political participation in order to achieve a partial agreement like the one reached last May regarding agricultural development.
Tomorrow the talks will be adjourned until next Sunday, when both parts are expected to resume negotiations at the Havana International Convention Center, permanent venues of the meetings.
by Walter Ewing
Analysis
Unauthorized immigrants come to this country primarily for two reasons: to work, and to be reunited with family members who are already here. They would obviously prefer to come to this country legally, but our legal limits on immigration have for decades not matched either the realtties of U.S. labor demand or the natural human desire for family unity. And so they opt to make the expensive, difficult, and dangerous decision to come without authorization because that is what they judge to be the best chance they and their families have for a better future. In other words, the overwhelming majority of unauthorized immigrants are as far from being hardened criminals as you could possibly get. They are gardeners and housekeepers; husbands and wives; parents with children. They are members of U.S. society and integral to the U.S. economy. How much damage are we willing to inflict upon U.S. society and the U.S. economy in the process of expelling unauthorized landscapers and nannies from the country?
However, in its latest report, the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) would have us believe that unauthorized immigrants are Public Enemy #1. The CIS report is basically a laundry list of every federal law which an unauthorized immigrant might break in coming to, living in, and working in the United States without authorization. Although the report is very thorough in its cataloging of statutes, it demonstrates a superficial understanding of criminality and how people—especially immigrants—come to be defined as “criminals.” Moreover, the report offers no practical, realistic guide to dealing with the presence of 11 million unauthorized men, women, and children. The chances are slim that they will all be deported in a modern-day redux of Operation Wetback. Nor are they likely to “self-deport.” Among the more serious flaws of the CIS report is its failure to recognize the degree to which immigrants in general and unauthorized immigrants in particular are actively criminalized by the U.S. justice system. That is, new categories of criminality are created which are applied only to immigrants, but not to the native-born. For instance, both unauthorized immigrants and Legal Permanent Residents are subject to mandatory deportation if they have been convicted of an “aggravated felony.”
However, under the 1996 immigration law, the crimes which qualify as an “aggravated felony” are different for an immigrant than they are for a native-born American. For an immigrant, an “aggravated felony” need not really be “aggravated” or even a “felony.” Instead, it includes many nonviolent and relatively minor offenses such as filing a false tax return or shoplifting—neither of which would be considered an “aggravated felony” for native-born citizens. Similarly, in the case of unauthorized immigrants, Congress has generally defined “illegal entry” into the country as a misdemeanor, but “illegal re-entry” (coming here again without authorization) as a felony. Yet neither of these offenses is violent or threatening. This is why nonviolent immigration offenders comprise the vast majority of unauthorized immigrants who are apprehended and deported each year. In fact, research has shown that those immigrants most likely to be unauthorized—Mexican, Salvadoran, and Guatemalan men without a high-school diploma—are incarcerated at far lower rates than native-born men. In other words, in the overwhelming majority of cases, these are not “criminals” in any commonly understood sense of the word.
They have not committed violent crimes or property crimes. And they are not threats to public safety or national security. Leaving aside the dubious definitions of “criminal” which are applied to unauthorized immigrants by federal law, some practical questions remain. How far should we go—how many scarce law-enforcement resources and personnel should we devote—to expelling unauthorized landscapers and nannies from the country? How much damage are we willing to inflict upon U.S. society and the U.S. economy in the process? And to what end? If you’re worried that the man who picks your vegetables or mows your lawn may have used a false Social Security number to get his job, the most realistic solution is the creation of a program by which he can earn legal status.
That is far more practical than trying to track him down, and his coworkers, and his family and friends, in a crusade to remove from the country any non-citizen who has ever broken any law.
In other immigration news:
Obama calls for Congress to pass immigration reform by end of year
President Barack Obama on Thursday called on lawmakers to pass a comprehensive immigration reform package before the end of the year after the task of resolving the fiscal crisis kept parts of the U.S. government shut down for 16 days and almost caused the country to default on its debts.
“There’s already a broad coalition across America that’s behind this effort of comprehensive immigration reform, from business leaders to faith leaders to law enforcement,” said the president.
Obama, who talked to reporters about the budget agreement reached Wednesday night in Congress, insisted that immigration reform is a measure that will help jump start the U.S. economy and that must be agreed to as soon as possible.
“In fact, the Senate has already passed a bill with strong bipartisan support that would make the biggest commitment to border security in our history, would modernize our legal immigration system, make sure everyone plays by the same rules,” he added.
Obama said the Senate measure, which would establish a road to citizenship for the country’s 11 million illegal immigrants, would stimulate the economy.
“The majority of Americans think this is the right thing to do, and it’s sitting there waiting for the House to pass it,” the president said. “Now if the House has ideas on how to improve the Senate bill, let’s hear them. Let’s start the negotiations. But let’s not leave this problem to keep festering for another year, or two years, or three years.”
“This can and should get done by the end of this year,” Obama said.
Immigration reform was moved to the political back burner after, first, the Syrian crisis and, next, the fiscal crisis.
by Ethan A. Huff
Corn from Nayarit, MexicoJust days before a recent March Against Monsanto protest that took place globally on Oct. 12, Mexico, the geographical birthplace of modern-day corn, instituted a regulatory ban on all plantings of genetically modified (GM) varieties of this staple food crop. A victory for food freedom and agricultural integrity, the announcement was made at a press conference in Mexico City on Oct. 10, where officials notified the public and the press that all GM corn plantings, including pilot commercial plantings, were to be immediately suspended.
Though not necessarily permanent, the injunction came after years of protests against transgenic crops, particularly those that threaten the persistence of staple crops like corn. For Mexico, corn, also known as maize, is a primary food crop for which there are hundreds, if not thousands, of heirloom varieties currently being grown. If GM corn varieties are allowed to be cultivated alongside them on any considerable scale, Mexico’s entire agricultural heritage could become extinct.
“[T]he decision came after years of lobbying by activists who noted that Mexico — the birthplace of modern-day maize and its cultivation — knows a little bit about how to create various disease-resistant strains of corn, given Mexicans in one form of tribe or another, have been doing it for millennia,” writes Gustavo Arellano for the OC Weekly.
Despite a moratorium on GM corn cultivation in Mexico that dates back to 1998, many native maize varieties have still tested positive for low levels of modified genes, which proves that GMOs cannot be contained and have a tendency to contaminate other crops. Because of this, a coalition of 53 groups and individuals, which includes scientists and human rights groups, filed a lawsuit last year to suspend all field trials of GM corn and other experiments that could be causing this contamination.
Agreeing with their argument, a Mexican judge later ruled that all field trials of GM corn in Mexico must end, citing specific and imminent environmental risks. A press release recently issued by the nongovernmental organization La Coperacha affirms this decision, noting that Mexican law requires justices to protect the interests of the people rather than the interests of big business, which in this case means multinational chemical companies like Monsanto.
Mexico will still import GMO corn, despite ban
The ruling is timely, as many areas of Mexico have been pressured in recent years to accept not only field trials of GM corn but also commercial plantings, despite their risks to native corn varieties. Unfortunately though, the ruling does not go far enough, say some, as Mexico will continue to import GM corn from other countries like the U.S. — roughly one-third of the corn Mexico consumes is imported.
“The ruling has understandably caused joy across Mexico and the anti-GMO world, but it’s also not as far-reaching as you would think,” adds Arellano. “The judge in question didn’t ban the import of GMO corn into Mexico — and in this globalized society, Mexicans are just as likely to eat corn from Minnesota as they are elote from Puebla.”
Even so, the decision has earned considerable attention the world over, as Mexico is now the only country in North America to ban the cultivation of a GM crop. Neither the U.S. nor Canada has taken any action thus far against the growing onslaught of GMO pollution within their borders, despite the fact that most other developed countries in the world have either banned GMOs or require them to at least be properly labeled.
by Marvin Ramirez
Marvin RamirezNOTE FROM THE EDITOR: The so-called experts, and friends of Wall Street. Their comments are geared to make us believe that everything is OK. The following article, authored by Prof. Michel Chossudovsky, brings us the perspective we don’t get from the mainstream media. Due to its length, it will be published in two parts. This is Part 1
The speculative endgame: the government “shutdown” and the “debt default” a multibillion bonanza for Wall Street
by Prof . Michel Chossudovsky
The “shutdown” of the US government and the financial climax associated with a deadline date, leading to a possible “debt default” of the federal government is a money making undertaking for Wall Street.
A wave of speculative activity is sweeping major markets.
The uncertainty regarding the shutdown and “debt default” constitutes a golden opportunity for “institutional speculators”. Those who have reliable “inside information” regarding the complex outcome of the legislative process are slated to make billions of dollars in windfall gains.
Speculative Bonanza
Several overlapping political and economic agendas are unfolding. In a previous article, we examined the debt default saga in relation to the eventual privatization of important components of the federal State system.
While Wall Street exerts a decisive influence on policy and legislation pertaining to the government shutdown, these same major financial institutions also control the movement of currency markets, commodity and stock markets through large scale operations in derivative trade.
Most of the key actors in the US Congress and the Senate involved in the shutdown debate are controlled by powerful corporate lobby groups acting directly or indirectly on behalf of Wall Street. Major interests on Wall Street are not only in a position to influence the results of the Congressional process, they also have “inside information” or prior knowledge of the chronology and outcome of the government shutdown impasse.
They are slated to make billions of dollars in windfall profits in speculative activities which are “secure” assuming that they are in a position to exert their influence on relevant policy outcomes.
It should be noted, however, that there are important divisions both within the US Congress as well as within the financial establishment. The latter are marked by the confrontation and rivalry of major banking conglomerates.
These divisions will have an impact on speculative movements and counter movements in the stock, money and commodity markets. What we are dealing with is “financial warfare”. The latter is by no means limited to Wall Street, Chinese, Russian and Japanese financial institutions (among others) will also be involved in the speculative endgame.
Speculative movements based on inside information, therefore, could potentially go in different directions. What market outcomes are being sought by rival banking institutions? Having inside information on the actions of major banking competitors is an important element in the waging of major speculative operations.
Derivative Trade
The major instrument of “secure” speculative activity for these financial actors is derivative trade, with carefully formulated bets in the stock markets, major commodities –including gold and oil– as well as foreign exchange markets.
These major actors may know “where the market is going” because they are in a position to influence policies and legislation in the US Congress as well as manipulate market outcomes.
Moreover, Wall Street speculators also influence the broader public’s perception in the media, not to mention the actions of financial brokers of competing or lesser financial institutions which do not have foreknowledge or access to inside information.
These same financial actors are involved in the spread of “financial disinformation”, which often takes the form of media reports which contribute to either misleading the public or building a “consensus” among economists and financial analysts which will push markets in a particular direction. Pointing to an inevitable decline of the US dollar, the media serves the interests of the institutional speculators in camouflaging what might happen in an environment characterized by financial manipulation and the interplay of speculative activity on a large scale.
Speculative trade routinely involves acts of deception. In recent weeks, the media has been flooded with “predictions” of various catastrophic economic events focusing on the collapse of the dollar, the development of a new reserve currency by the BRICS countries, etc.
At a recent conference hosted by the powerful Institute of International Finance (IIF), a Washington based think tank organization which represents the world’s most powerful banks and financial institutions:
“Three of the world’s most powerful bankers warned of terrible consequences if the United States defaults on its debt, with Deutsche Bank chief executive Anshu Jain claiming default would be “utterly catastrophic.”
This would be a very rapidly spreading, fatal disease, … I have no recommendations for this audience… about putting band aids on a gaping wound,” he said.
“JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon and Baudouin Prot, chairman of BNP Paribas, said a default would have dramatic consequences on the value of U.S. debt and the dollar, and likely would plunge the world into another recession.” (…)
Dimon and other top executives from major U.S. financial firms met with President Barack Obama and with lawmakers last week to urge them to deal with both issues. On Saturday, Dimon said banks are already spending “huge amounts” of money preparing for the possibility of a default, which he said would threaten the global recovery after the 2007-2009 financial crisis.
Dimon also defended JPMorgan against critics who say the bank has become too big to manage. It has come under scrutiny from numerous regulators and on Friday reported its first quarterly loss since Dimon took over, due to more than $7 billion in legal expenses. (Emily Stephenson and Douwe Miedema, World top bankers warn of dire consequences if U.S. defaults.
Reuters, October 12, 2013
What these “authoritative” economic assessments are intended to create is an aura of panic and economic uncertainty, pointing to the possibility of a collapse of the US dollar. What is portrayed by the Institute of International Finance panelists (who are the leaders of the world’s largest banking conglomerates) is tantamount to an Economics 101 analysis of market adjustment, which casually excludes the known fact that markets are manipulated with the use of sophisticated derivative trading instruments. In a bitter irony, the IIF panelists are themselves involved in routinely twisting market values through derivative trade. Capitalism in the 21st century is no longer based largely on profits resulting from a real economy productive process, windfall financial gains are acquired through large scale speculative operations, without the occurrence of real economy activity. at the touch of a mouse button. The manipulation of markets is carried out on the orders of major bank executives including the CEOs of JPMorgan Chase, Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas.
The “too big to fail banks” are portrayed, in the words of JPMorgan Chase’s CEO Jamie Dimon’s, as the “victims” of the debt default crisis, when in fact they are the architects of economic chaos as well as the unspoken recipients of billions of dollars of stolen taxpayers’ money.
These corrupt mega banks are responsible for creating the “gaping wound” referred to by Deutsche Bank’s Anshu Jain in relaiton to the US public debt crisis. SEE NEXT EDITION: COLLAPSE OF THE DOLLAR.
Will we get our lost liberties back?
by Andrew Napolitano
Every American who values the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, every American who enjoys the right to be different and the right to be left alone, and every American who believes that the government works for us and we don’t work for the government should thank Edward Snowden for his courageous and heroic revelations of the National Security Agency’s gargantuan spying operations. Without Snowden’s revelations, we would be ignorant children to a paternalistic government and completely in the dark about what the government sees of us and knows about us. And we would not know that it has stolen our freedoms.
When I saw Snowden’s initial revelation — a two-page order signed by a federal judge on the FISA court — I knew immediately that Snowden had a copy of a genuine top-secret document that even the judge who signed it did not have. The NSA reluctantly acknowledged that the document was genuine and claimed that all its snooping on the 113,000,000 Verizon customers covered by that order was lawful because it had been authorized by that federal judge. The NSA also claims that as a result of its spying, it has kept us safe.
I reject the argument that the government is empowered to take our liberties — here, the right to privacy — by majority vote or by secret fiat as part of an involuntary collective bargain that it needs to monitor us in private in order to protect us in public. The government’s job is to keep us free and safe. If it keeps us safe but not free, it is not doing its job.
Since the revelations about Verizon, we have learned that the NSA has captured and stored in its Utah computers the emails, texts, telephone conversations, utility bills, bank statements, credit card statements and digital phone books of everyone in America for the past two and a half years. It also has captured hundreds of millions of phone records in Brazil, France, Germany and Mexico — all U.S. allies — and it has shared much of the seized raw American data with intelligence agencies in Great Britain and Israel. Its agents have spied on their girlfriends and boyfriends literally thousands of times, and they have combed the collected raw data and selectively revealed some of it to law enforcement. All of this directly contradicts the Constitution.
And, if all of this is not enough to induce one to realize that the Orwellian future is here thanks to the secret governments of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, Snowden also revealed that the NSA can hack into anyone’s mobile phone, even when it is turned off, and use each phone as a listening device and as a GPS to track whoever possesses it.
When Gen. Keith Alexander, the head of the NSA, was confronted with this litany of unlawful and unconstitutional behavior, he replied by claiming that his spies have saved the U.S. from 54 terrorist plots. He pleaded with lawmakers not to strip him of the power to spy or of the billions they have given him to spend on spying, lest another 9/11 plot befall us.
Many Americans were willing to make this trade: spy on 330,000,000 Americans in order to stop 54 plots. But the government lacks the moral and constitutional power to compel this trade, because the right to privacy is a personal, individual and inalienable right, and so it cannot lawfully be taken away by majority vote (which never happened) or by secret fiat (which did happen). The government also lacks the authority to spy without legal constraint on anyone it wishes, because that violates the Constitution and fundamentally changes our open and free society. All-hearing ears and all-seeing eyes and unconstrained power exercised in secret are a toxic mix destined to destroy personal freedom.
Now we know that Alexander has lied yet again to a congressional committee. He recently acknowledged that the number of plots foiled is not the stated-under-oath 54, but is either two or three. He won’t say which two or three or how spying on every American was the only lawful or constitutional way to uncover these plots. He also won’t say why he originally said 54, instead of two or three; but he did say last week that he will retire next spring.
This is maddening. The government breaks the law it has been hired to enforce and violates the Constitution its agents have sworn to uphold; it gets caught and lies about it; and no one in government is punished or changes his behavior.
Then we realize that the so-called court that authorized all of this is not a court at all. Federal judges may only exercise the judicial function when they are addressing cases or controversies; and their opinions only have the force of law when they emanate from that context. But when federal judges serve an essentially clerical function, they are not serving as judges, their opinions are self-serving and legally useless, and their apparent imprimatur upon spying gives it no moral or legal legitimacy.
All of this — which is essentially undisputed — leads me to the question: Where is the outrage? I think the government has succeeded in so terrifying us at the prospect of another 9/11 that we are afraid to be outraged at the government when it claims to be protecting us, no matter what it does. C.S. Lewis once remarked that the greatest trick the devil has pulled off is convincing us that he does not exist.
The government’s greatest trick has been persuading us to surrender our freedoms. Will we ever get them back? The answer to that depends upon the fidelity to freedom of those in whose hands we have reposed the Constitution for safekeeping. At present, those hands are soiled with the filth of totalitarianism and preoccupied with the grasp of power. And they seem to be getting dirtier and their grip tighter every day.
by the El Reportero’s news services
Marc AnthonyAmerican singer Marc Anthony, who went a decade without launching a new studio disc, said that when “3.0” hit the market it made him so nervous it was like starting a new career.
“After being away for 10 years, I feel like I’m starting my career all over again,” the artist told a press conference Monday in Mexico City.
His album “3.0” went on sale in July with its 10 songs, including Vivir Mi Vida, and became the first salsa disc in 10 years that managed to grab top spot on the Billboard chart.
“I felt a lot of anxiety before launching the disc because the whole market has changed over the past 10 years,” the artist said.
“Taking the decision and not being really sure and then scoring such a success has me full of life,” the 45-year-old singer and actor said.
The artist is in Mexico on his “Vivir Mi Vida World Tour 2013”.
Luis Miguel demands villa, yacht, helicopter for stay in DR
Mexican singer Luis Miguel, who will begin his Latin American tour in the Dominican Republic, has instructed his promoter to provide him with a helicopter, private chef and other luxuries during his six-day stay in the country, it was reported Wednesday.
“El Sol de Mexico,” who is scheduled to arrive in the Caribbean nation on Oct. 30, also requested that a villa and a yacht be provided for him in Casa de Campo, a seaside resort located 110 kilometers (68 miles) east of this capital.
Some of the artist’s crew will begin arriving on Oct. 28, followed by the 18 musicians who will accompany him on stage and his support team.
Josselyn Garciglia Bañuelos wins 2013 Nuestra Belleza Mexico Pageant
Josselyn Garciglia Bañuelos, who represented Baja California Sur state, won the 2013 Nuestra Belleza Mexico pageant over the weekend in Toluca, a city in Mexico state, the Televisa network said.
The 22-year-old Garciglia Bañuelos has a degree in nutrition.
Garciglia Bañuelos will represent Mexico at the 2014 Miss Universe pageant, Televisa said in a statement.
Beauty queens from the states of Aguascalientes, Chihuahua, Jalisco and Sonora were among the finalists at the 2013 Nuestra Belleza Mexico pageant.
Pepe Aguilar and Alex Ubago performed at the pageant.
Hilean rock band La Ley plans comeback after 8 years
The Chilean rock band La Ley is making a comeback after eight years out of the spotlight with a concert at the next Viña del Mar Festival and a tour of Latin America.
Organizers of the Viña del Mar Festival confirmed the participation of the group led by singer Beto Cuevas in the 2014 edition of the contest, while the daily La Tercera on Saturday announced the band’s upcoming tour around the continent, citing sources close to the musicians.
The daily also revealed that the only Chilean group to win a Grammy in the United States and which made a hit in the 1990s throughout Latin American with albums like “Invisible,” “Vertigo” and “Uno,”is working on a number of new songs.
Compiled by the El Reportero’s staff
An ex prisoner mother and her son.New America Media presents portraits of parents returning home from incarceration through the eyes of their children.
Join us for a video screening and panel discussion to explore the important role children play in successful reentry and the challenges they face as they work out relationships with the returning parent.
As thousands of prisoners are released under Gov. Brown’s realignment program, the people who were most impacted by their incarceration – their children – must now face another challenge: their parents’ return. Their stories of hope, disappointment, love and reconciliation are key to understanding what it will take to realize the promise of realignment: prisoners who come home to their families for good.
Friday, Nov. 1, 2013, at 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. (Lunch will be provided). At the World Affairs Council, 312 Sutter St., Suite 200, San Francisco.
Time to poetize what you like poetry?
Bohemian Nights of pure poetry takes place in the City College of San Francisco, Mission Campus.
These lyrical gatherings are offered on the last Wednesday of each month, starting this Oct. 30.
For those who want to eat something, the room offers a mixed menu of pupusas, cold sandwiches, varios snacks, french fries, coffee, cappuccino, childrenwater, juices, soft drinks, etc., at an excellent price.
City College of San Francisco – Mission Campus, Room #154, 1125 Valencia 22, October 30, from 5 to 8 p.m. For more information, call Katia Barillas 415- 871-7426.
Tribute to Santana and fundraiser
Sounds of the Streets is a tribute to Santana as well as a fundraiser for Milagro Foundation, which benefits underserved and vulnerable children around the world. This foundation was started by Carlos Santana and his family.
During the will be a short PowerPoint presentation outlining the era (1960s) and the location (the Mission District of San Francisco) presented by College of San Mateo Ethnic Studies professor, Rudy Ramírez. Thereafter, a live performance by the Mission Street All-Stars will play selections from the first three albums. This event will be held at the College of San Mateo Theater, Bldg. 3 on Nov. 13, from 7-9 p.m.
Free parking in Beethoven Lot 2. $10 general, $7 students, staff, faculty.
The Women’s Building Celebration of Craftwomen
The 35th Annual Celebration of Craftswomen, showcasing over 190 female artists, takes place in San Francisco’s Festival Pavilion at the Fort Mason Center on Veteran’s Day Weekend. On Nov. 9-11, 2013, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admissions are $9 for adults; $7 for students, seniors, and people with disabilities; free for children ages 12 and under; and a two-day pass, good on any of the three days, is $15.
Tickets are available on the website beginning Oct. 15 and all proceeds benefit The Women’s Building. Those interested in more information can find it at the Celebration of Craftswomen’s website www.celebrationofcraftswomen.com, send an email to Craftswomen@gmail.com, or call 415-802-5699.
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